Foot guard



June 26, 1962 c. J. CRISWELL FOOT GUARD Filed July 20 FIG-3 INVENTOR.

CHARLES ICRISWELL "112W ,E' Tum FIG-4 ATTORNEY United Statesatent O" 3,040,455 F801 GUARD Charles J. Criswell, 363 S. Limestone St, Springfield, Ohio Filed July 20, 1961, set. No. 125,523 4 Claims. (Cl. 36-42) The present invention relates to a protective device for the feet of a person, and particularly relates to foot guards for the shoe-clad feet of the wearer, especially useful as a protection against injuries during the operation of lawn mowers.

It is known in the art to provide protectors which are worn on top of the shoe of the wearer in order to afford protection against injury to the foot. The known devices do, however, have a number of disadvantages. They usually comprise a section disposed underneath the foot, that is, on the sole side of the shoe, which makes the guard not susceptible to wearing of shoes of various sizes, and in addition is rather complicated. Other guards have a configuration not substantially corresponding to the outer contour of the front part of the shoe and are cumbersome in production and wearing.

One of the major disadvantages of the foot guards of the art is that they usually comprise a bottom section of metal. 7 Instances have occurred when the wearer of such foot guard stepped on a badly insulated electrical conductor and was all but electrocuted.

It is the object of the present invention to provide a foot guard especially useful for affording protection against injuries commonly occurring during power lawn mower operations, which correspond substantially to the contour of the shoe clad front portion of the foot of a wearer.

Another object of the invention is to provide a foot guard especially useful for affording protection against injuries commonly occurring during power lawn mower operations, which can be worn with shoes of various sizeswithout requiring any adaptation of the foot guard body proper or its attachment.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a foot guard especially useful for affording protection against injuries commonly occurring during power lawn mower operations, which is simple and easy in production and convenient to wear.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a foot guard especially useful for affording protection against injuries commonly occurring during power lawn mower operations, which is safe in operation and afiords protection notonly against mechanical damage but also against short circuiting injuries.

Further objects and advantages will become apparent from the following detailed description in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a foot guard of the present invention shown worn on a shoe;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective View seen from the side of the foot guard of the invention;

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view viewed from a different position of the foot guard; and

FIGURE 4 is a detailed view in cross section of the metal strip extending underneath the shoe of the foot guard of invention.

Referring now to the drawings more in detail, the foot of the guard essentially comprise-s an arcuate body portion 1 substantially corresponding to the contour of a shoe clad foot, so that it may be placed on top of the front portion of the shoe and thus covers the entire surface of the front portion of the shoe.

To the arcuate body there is attached a metal strip 2 by means of a suitable attachment 3, such as, for example, a welding or soldering spot attachment, or the like. A

3,040,455, Patented June 26, 1962 ice ' portion by a suitable attachment 5, such as clamps, bolts,

or the like. Y

The body portion 1 is constructed of metal or a similar highly resistant material, affording protection from cutting blades, such as the blades of lawn mowers, and similar cutting, grinding or scratching elements. Preferably a 20-gauge steel is chosen. It is apparent that material of this kind is stiflf and self-supporting.

The strap 4 is advantageously composed of a resilient material, such as a rubber band or the like, so as tofirmly retain the foot guard on the shoe while being susceptible to being worn with shoes of various sizes.

According to the invention the metal part of the body portion 1 extends below the shoe on the sole surface of the latter and it is the metal strip 2 only which so extends below the'shoe, in order to afford protection not only against mechanical damage occurring on the surface of the shoe, but also to avoid electrical injury which may occuron the bottom of the shoe by stepping on badly insulated electrical wires.

The metal strip 2 is covered with an insulating layer 6, for example, a rubber coating or the like, which on the one hand affords excellent insulation while at the same time is highly wear resistant. This insulation may be disposed either all around the metal strip 2, as shown in the drawing, or it may be provided only on the bottom side of the metal strip.

Instead of providing a metal strip 2, it may also be feasible to use a strip integrally consisting of an insulating and at the same time wear resistant material, such as, for example, a hard rubber strip.

The foot guard of the'invention canrbe easily Worn on shoe clad feet of various sizes. For that purpose the front portion of the foot is simply slit between the metal strip '2 and the arcuate body in such manner that the strip 2 contacts the sole and the arcuate body 1, and more or less snugly fits the surface at the sides of the front portion of the shoe. The resilient strap 4 extends around the rear portion of the foot and holds the foot guard in position on the shoe.

Having thus described the foot guard of the present invention, it will be apparent that the same offers a convenient, easy to wear, and inexpensive protection against injury, both mechanical injury such as produced by the cutting blade of a lawn mower, as well as electrical injury produced by stepping on insufficiently insulated wire; for example, the wire connecting the power source of the lawn mower with the main.

It will thus be apparent that the foot guard can be worn with feet of various sizes, although its simplicity and low cost of production easily warrants the use of foot guards of various dimensions best adapted to a particular range of sizes. Since the foot guard of the type of the present invention, if chosen to substantially correspond to a particular foot size, excellently follows the contour of the foot, it is extremely convenient to Wear. At the same time this configuration eliminates projecting edges which could be'easily damaged or which would be subjected to excessive wear and tear.

It will be understood that this invention is susceptible to modification in order to adapt it to different usages and conditions and accordingly, it is desired to comprehend such modifications within this invention as may fall within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A foot guard to be worn on the front of a shoe clad foot comprising a hollow arcuate body, open at the bottom, and having a top portion which substantially corresponds to the upper and side surfaces of the contour of the front end of the shoe clad foot, said top portion being stiff and of self-supporting character, a strip member projecting from the toe end of said arcuate body and extending below the shoe clad foot in a direction toward the heel of said foot, and a strap fastening member attached to the rear of said body to he slipped over the back end of the shoe clad foot for retaining said arcuate body and strip in position above and below the shoe clad foot, respectively.

2. A foot guard to be worn on a shoe clad foot to afford protection against cutting action as well as electrical injury, comprising a hollow arcuate body consisting of a highly wear resistant metal, said body being open at the bottom and having a top portion which substantially corresponds to the upper and side surfaces of the front end of the shoe clad foot, an insulated strip member projecting from said arcuate body and extending below the shoe clad foot, and a strap fastening member attached to the rear of said body to be slipped over the back end of the shoe clad foot for retaining said arcuate body and said strip in position above and below the shoe clad foot, respectively.

3. A foot guard to be worn on a shoe clad foot to afford protection against cutting action as well as electrical injury, comprising an arcuate body member consisting of a highly wear resistant metal, said body being open at the bottom and having a top portion which substantially corresponds to the upper and side surfaces of the front end of the shoe clad foot, 21 metal strip covered with an electrically insulating layer projecting from said arcuate body and extending below the shoe clad foot, and a strap fastening member attached to the rear of Said body to be slipped over the back end of the shoe clad foot for retaining said arcuate body and said strip in position above and below the shoe clad foot, respectively.

4. A foot guard to be worn on a shoe clad foot to afford protection against cutting action as well as electrical injury, comprising a hollow arcuate body consisting of a highly wear resistant metal, said body being open at the bottom and having a top portion which substantially corresponds to the upper and side surfaces of the front end of the shoe clad foot, a metal strip having a lower surface covered with an electrically insulating material projecting from said arcuate body and extending below the shoe clad foot, and a strap fastening member attached to the rear of said body to be slipped over the back end of the shoe clad foot for retaining said arcuate body and said strip in position above and below the shoe clad foot, respectively.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 900,499 Eckhard Oct. 6, 1908 1,640,669 Sankey Aug. 30, 1927 1,717,438 Dickson June 18, 1929 2,256,091 Khandjian Sept. 16, 1941 2,268,435 Zucker Dec. 30, 1941 2,552,700 Watts May 15, 1951 2,555,900 Roberts June 5, 1951 

